The goal of the Field Laboratory for Emerging Stacked Unconventional Plays (ESUP) is to investigate and characterize the resource potential for multi-play production of emerging unconventional reservoirs in Central Appalachia.

The Central Appalachian region is host to an abundance of hydrocarbon resources that include coalbed methane, shale, and other unconventional reservoirs. Many of these plays are vertically stacked such that a single well or group of wells in close proximity can produce simultaneously from multiple reservoirs. Many of these reservoirs produce fewer than 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day and can thus be classified as ESUPs. The project is designed to improve characterization of the multiple emerging unconventional pay zones that exist in the established Nora Gas Field through the drilling and coring of a vertical stratigraphic test well up to 15,000 feet deep. Additionally, the ESUP Field Laboratory Team will explore and quantify the benefit of novel non-aqueous well completion strategies in this region. An assessment will be made of the multi-play resource potential, and a recommended strategy will be advanced for prudent development that considers regional environmental and socioeconomic impacts.

Impact

The benefits associated with prudently developing these ESUPs include reduced surface footprint, infrastructure requirements, and development costs. While advances in technology continue to increase the nation’s portfolio of economically recoverable hydrocarbons, uncertainty and technical challenges deter the level of investment required to develop Central Appalachia’s ESUPs. While it is imperative to meet the need for economic development, the region also contains “some of the world’s best remaining examples of diverse, intact, and connected temperate forests and freshwater streams” that reach tens of millions of people every day (Nature Conservancy, 2014). Although resource development and environmental conservation are often conflicting priorities, the results of this research effort will combine best practices, state of the art technology, and effective outreach to address the concerns of all stakeholders.

Nora Gas Field, Virginia (US Energy Information Administration, 2007)

Accomplishments (most recent listed first)

Siting, designing, and permitting of the 15,000-foot characterization well has been completed with a planned drill date of spring 2020.

VT went out for bids to drill, log, and core the well. Bids closed March 8, 2019. A final Authorization for Expenditures (AFE) was developed as a result of the bids and presented to DOE on April 23, 2019 for approval.

An Advisory Stakeholder Group (ASG) was established, and the initial meeting of the group was held November 1, 2018, in Abingdon, Virginia — office location of industry partner EnerVest. The ASG was presented with the overarching scope of the project followed by open discussion pertaining to site selection and drilling of the initial characterization well.

Current Status

(November 2019)

Due to DOE budget constraints, the greater-than-initially-planned cost estimate for the drilling of the 15,000-foot characterization well, and the drilling and completion of a Lower Huron lateral resulted in project rescoping and budget re-baselining. The 15,000-foot characterization well including coring and logging remains in scope whereas the drilling and non-aqueous stimulation of a Lower Huron lateral has been removed. The research team will continue to conduct laboratory testing and reservoir modeling of the Lower Huron core to inform future stimulation designs. The field site for the characterization well is being prepared with a planned spud in spring 2020.